Hylton: There’s a million per cent contact

Town striker Danny Hylton vehemently denied he had been guilty of diving to try and win a penalty during this afternoon’s 2-2 draw against Cheltenham at Kenilworth Road.

With the Hatters chasing a stoppage time winner against the Robins, Hylton turned in the box to set up a shooting chance, before going to ground under a challenge from visiting defender Will Boyle.

Danny Hylton is shown yellow by official Mark Heywood

Rather than award Luton a second spotkick of the afternoon, referee Mark Heywood booked the Town frontman for what he felt was simulation.

However, Hylton was left baffled by the decision, saying: “I’ve chopped and (Johan) Cruyff-ed the ball, the defender thinks I’m going to shoot, he’s dangled his leg and he’s caught me and I go down.

“There’s a million per cent contact. The most annoying thing is that he booked me for diving and it 100 per cent wasn’t a dive.

“If he didn’t think it was a penalty, then don’t give the penalty, but 100 per cent it wasn’t a dive.

If he didn’t think it was a penalty, then don’t give the penalty, but 100 per cent it wasn’t a dive.

Danny Hylton

“So to book me for diving was completely ridiculous in my opinion, but that’s what he did and that’s what happened, so you can’t change that

“There was a lot of bodies in the way, that’s why I tried to chop and get a shot on my left foot, but he’s dangled his leg and swiped my foot and I went down.

“I thought it could have easily been a penalty, but the man that matters didn’t think it was.”

When asked for his thoughts on the yellow for Town’s leading scorer, his ninth of the season, meaning he is one away from a two game ban, Luton boss Nathan Jones said: “That was probably the right decision, although I’m baffled why Harry Pell didn’t get one for a swan dive in the bottom corner.

“So if you’re going to be consistent, be consistent.”

It was one of a number of odd calls made by the official all afternoon, none more so than his decision to rule out Olly Lee’s goal and award a penalty to the Hatters for a foul on James Collins, which the striker went on to miss.

Hylton added: “If the ref lets it go a second more then we equalise, I still don’t really know why he didn’t give the goal.

“Collo missed the penalty, but no-one’s blaming Collo or anything.

“It’s easy to miss penalties, but then we give the second goal away, although I still thought at 2-1 we could have won the game.”

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